Saturday, May 8, 2010

A couple of months ago, I remember reading rumors that Dr. J. Eric Holmes, editor of the 1977 Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set had died, but, so far as I know, no one was able to confirm this as fact. Yesterday, the rumors were confirmed by Allan Grohe in a post on Dragonsfoot, where he relayed information he'd received from Dr. Holmes's wife. According to this information, Holmes died on March 20 as the result of another stroke. I recall that he'd been in ill health for some time, being unable to attend at least one convention where he was to be feted as guest of honor because of a previous stroke.

This is sad news, not merely because Holmes was an important figure in the early days of the hobby (as well as an enthusiastic devotee of Edgar Rice Burroughs and other pulp fantasy authors), but also because it was through the Holmes Basic Set that I was introduced to Dungeons & Dragons. Unlike the little brown books (which I never owned till much later) or the Moldvay Basic Rulebook (which was released after I was already playing), the compact Holmes Basic book -- the "blue book," as it's sometimes called -- is what drew me into the hobby before I even had any idea what I was getting myself into.

Even now, three decades later, I look on that Basic book with great fondness. Without it, I doubt I'd be here today, writing this. It's a terrific little volume and a testament to the talents of Dr. J. Eric Holmes, who turned the confusing and often-contradictory texts of OD&D into something a little less confusing and contradictory -- at least enough that one precocious 10 year-old could make his first steps down the paths to a lifelong hobby.

25 comments:

That's terribly sad news. Dr. Holmes also was my gatekeeper into the world of Role-playing games as well. His blue book was and still is a huge influence on how I view the game. For the many hours of enjoyment I've had playing his rules I thank him. I will always view him as one of the great pillars of this hobby.

I didn't get into D&D until the Moldvay editions. However, even though I am fairly ignorant on the histories of the genre, it is quite obvious that Dr. Holmes' work on that '78 edition pretty much set the mainstream table for Dungeons & Dragons as a whole.

I have a different relationship as Holmes D&D is something quite recent to me, discovering it via the OSR last year. It's now my preferred edition and IMO probably the best edition to introduce new players too, now and back then. Dr. J Eric Holmes, thank you.

Though I was technically introduced to the game through AD&D (my first character was a half elf Ftr/MU/Thief) it was the Holmes Basic set that I first bought, and still have and treasure even though the book is in pretty bad shape.

Though we started playing D&D with the three original books, it was the Holmes edition that marked the start of our serious playing. I also have a copy of his book, "Fantasy Role Playing," which has an honored spot in his collection.

I'm another player introduced to D&D thru Dr. Holmes rules. Without his relatively simple presentation of the game, I believe D&D would never have had traction to become the phenomenon that it did.

I would also like to remember him for his contributions to ERB fandom. Sadly, except for the abortive TSR Tarzan game, ERB Inc. has never allowed roleplayers to (officially) explore the amazing worlds of Barsoom, Caspak, or Pellucidar. Dr. Holmes would have been the natural choice to write such a game.

I too am a blue-booker! Purchased from the games shelf of a tiny rural pharmacy, plucked from amidst the Parker Brothers & Milton Bradley. The clear prose and a little familiarity with Choose Your Own Adventure books was all an eleven year old needed to become "Patient Zero" for his local circle. A few trips through Quasqueton later, and the hook was set.

Godspeed Dr. Holmes! The gate of wonder & cameraderie you ushered me through started something that looks fair to last a lifetime!

I also started with the Blue Book, just before the MM came out. I still remember the first adventure. It was like no other game I had ever played, pure magic. We pretty much all wore Plate and Shield and used 2-handed swords, until the DM realized on about the 3rd secession. What's your AC... 2...aren't you using a 2-handed sword....yeah, what's your point?

Wow, tragic news. Strange though how Moldvay die in March 2007, Gygax in March 2008, Arneson in April 2009 and now Holmes in March 2010 in consecutive years. Must be dodgy part of the year for people involved in role-playing games.

Another great thing about JEH was the Boinger the Halfling and Zereth the Elf stories: The Adventure of the Lost City (Alarums & Excursions, no. 17 Dec. 1976 and no. 19 Feb. 1977), Trollshead (The Dragon, no. 31 Nov. 1979), The Sorcerer's Jewel (The Dragon, no. 46 Feb. 1981), In the Bag (The Dragon, no. 58 Feb. 1982) and The Maze of Peril (ISBN 0-917053-05-2 Nov. 1986). I have all of them but all the appearances in Alarums & Excursions.

I love these stories and think the characters are awesome. I remember reading them when I was first collecting The Dragon and have always wanted them to show up in a game, either by playing one of them or as NPCs.

You can find more info on JEH's Boinger and Zereth series (as well as JEH's other writings) at http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16989 and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Eric_Holmes and http://www.acaeum.com/forum/about3318.html and http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=38933&start=0

What sad, sad news. In the beginning my group played Holmes Basic, though we had the white box set. I cherish those memories and the world of wonder the blue book brought me. Godspeed JEH. Say hello to Gary, Dave and Tom.

Like so many others, I also started with the Holmes basic set. But I especially enjoyed the adventures of Boinger and Zereth in Dragon magazine. In fact, they inspired what became my main characters for many years.

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